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" 先だって " appears to be a proper word but I don't see how it fits here?

"Which one... doesn't matter"?


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2023-10-14T21:57:39.213
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sentence reading-comprehension
What does だっていい mean?


(Edited upon chocolate's comment)

It's not 先{せん}だって ( _the other day_ ), but 先{さき} is used on its own.

For example,

  * 私が先だ

means _I'm the first_ (though, strictly speaking, it doesn't have to be
_first_. it just means the speaker does it earlier than the listener).

どっちが先だっていい ~~is a colloquial version of~~ can be understood as どっちが先であって(も)いい,
meaning _whichever is the first (does not matter)_. So the speaker is saying
the order (understood from the context) does not matter.

Another ~~contraction~~ alternative is どっちが先でもいい.

* * *

Grammatically
[って](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/%E3%81%A3%E3%81%A6/#jn-147762) is an
independent particle according to 大辞泉. I would say this is the usage of 2-1.

> １ ある事柄を話題として取り上げて示す意を表す。…は。…というのは。「あなた―親切な人ね」「彼―だれのこと」

In other words, it is a topic marker: _As regards which is the first, it does
not matter_.


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Since あって attaches to the -te form of adjectives and verbs as well, with
elision of the preceding vowel,

どっちが先で+あって→どっちが先だって=どっちが先でも

誰が来て+あって→誰が来たって=誰が来ても

どれが欲しくて+あって→どれが欲しくたって=どれが欲しくても

it might be better to think of this あって as a (special) use of the -te form
of有る.


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先だって can be interpreted in several ways:

  1. **先だって【せんだって】** (先達て in kanji): "recently; a while ago" ([a lexicalized adverb](https://jisho.org/word/%E5%85%88%E3%81%A0%E3%81%A3%E3%81%A6))

> 先だってお送りした書類の件ですが、…  
>  Regarding the document we sent you earlier, ...

  2. **先立って【さきだって】** ≈ 先行して: te-form of [先立つ【さきだつ】](https://jisho.org/word/%E5%85%88%E7%AB%8B%E3%81%A4), "to go ahead; to precede"

> 一般販売に先立ってテスト販売を行う。  
>  Test sales will be conducted prior to general sales.

  3. **先【さき】だって** : 先 ("earlier; first") + だ (copula) + って (quotative)

> Sチケットを持っている人の方が先だって言ってた。  
>  He said the S-ticket holders were first.

  4. **interrogative + 先【さき】だって** : 先 ("earlier; first") + [だって](https://jisho.org/word/%E3%81%A0%E3%81%A3%E3%81%A6) ("even", "-ever")

In your case, it's 4. This だって is a particle used in the same way as だって as in
誰だって (whoever), どれだって ("whichever"), いつだって ("whenever"), etc. It's more
emphatic and colloquial than 誰でも, etc. See [this
question](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/50294/5010).

> どっちが先だっていーよ、もう。  
>  ≈ どちらが先でもいいよ、もう。  
>  Come on, whoever {comes earlier / goes ahead / does it first}, I'm fine.  
>  Hey, I don't mind whichever is first!

Note that 1 is a fairly formal adverb used in business exchanges, and it never
appears in informal conversation.


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